PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man shot and wounded by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration stop in Portland, Oregon, last week pleaded not guilty Wednesday to aggravated assault on a federal employee and damaging federal property.
Luis David Nino-Moncada’s public defender entered the plea on his behalf during a hearing in U.S. District Court. He was indicted on the charges Tuesday and remains in custody, with a release hearing scheduled for next week. U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman set a five-day jury trial for March.
The shooting, which came one day after a federal agent shot and killed a driver in Minneapolis, prompted protests over federal agents’ aggressive tactics during immigration enforcement operations.
The FBI stated in a court filing that it had found no surveillance or other video of the shooting, which occurred when a Border Patrol agent shot and wounded Nino-Moncada and passenger Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras while they were in a pickup truck in the parking lot of a medical complex. The Department of Homeland Security has reported that the two entered the U.S. illegally and were affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed last week that the individuals had 'some nexus' to the gang. He noted that their names came up during an investigation into a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but they were not identified as suspects.
Zambrano-Contreras had previously been arrested for prostitution, and Nino-Moncada was present when a search warrant was executed in that case.
Border Patrol agents informed investigators that one of their colleagues opened fire after Nino-Moncada put the truck in reverse and repeatedly slammed into an unoccupied rental car, causing damage. FBI Special Agent Daniel Jeffreys claimed in an affidavit that Nino-Moncada used the vehicle as a weapon, prompting agents to fear for their own safety and that of the public.
Zambrano-Contreras is currently being held at a private immigration detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, facing a charge of illegal entry into the U.S., which was filed last week in Texas.
